News, Community, and Historical Thinking

What We’re Reading: February 19, 2009 Edition

We start off this week’s What We’re Reading by playing a little catch up and linking to articles on President’s Day, the Lincoln Bicentennial, and Darwin’s birthday. Then, the New York Times takes a look at an “emerging job trend”—being a digital archivist. Need a little inspiration? Check out the Humanity Initiative’s collection of commencement speeches dating back to 1936. And finally, we finish up with education (99 free online books humanities students should read) and edu-tainment (Oregon Trail for the iPhone).

Important Dates

Happy Presidents Day
Did you have Monday off from work? The National History Education Clearinghouse explains why.

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod
Miles Hoffman, a classical music commentator, discusses some of Lincoln’s favorite music, much of which is opera. You can listen to a selection of songs we know were some of Lincoln’s favorites and envision the President sporting iPod earbuds and jamming out to Mozart.

The Hero History Has Forgotten
On that fatal night of April 14, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was shot, George Foster Robinson was tending to Secretary of State William Seward when Lewis Payne, one of Booth’s co-conspirators, attacked the home. Robinson helped fight off the attacker and was wounded in the process. Robinson was an unsung hero that night, and his story has been largely forgotten.

Darwin: Let’s Get the History Right
Charles Darwin’s birthday was last week, and Dr. Denis Alexander, director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge, commemorated it by talking about both Darwin’s research and the religious opposition it infamously received and continues to receive today.

What Else We’re Reading

Digital Archivists, Now in Demand
The New York Times reports on the growing demand for digital archivists and notes that more than expertise in information technology is needed.